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New Delhi - Five men appeared in court for the first time
on Monday to face charges over the murder and gang-rape of a 23-year-old
student in New Delhi amid chaotic scenes that forced the hearing behind closed
doors.

Prosecutor Rajiv Mohan told AFP the men had been
appointed a defence lawyer, but declined to comment on reports that two of the
defendants have reportedly offered to co-operate in return for more lenient
sentences.

"The five have been provided with one counsel from
the legal aid services," he told AFP following the hearing in the Saket
district court complex in the south of the Indian capital.

The suspects, residents of New Delhi slums aged from 19
to 35, were brought to the court complex from the capital's high-security Tihar
jail under high security due to fears for their safety after three weeks of
protests.

"A charge sheet has been provided to the accused and
the next hearing will be on 10 January," magistrate Namrita Aggarwal, who
is expected to transfer the case for trial in a higher fast-track court, told
reporters.

She earlier ordered proceedings to take place behind
closed doors after journalists and lawyers packed the tiny courtroom, which had
chairs for about 30 people but was struggling to accommodate about 150.

Some lawyers staged protests while others argued over
whether the suspects had a right to defence counsels after two Supreme Court
advocates stepped forward offering to defend the men in order to ensure a fair
trial.

"It has become completely impossible for the
courtroom proceedings to proceed," Aggarwal said in an order that forced
all journalists and lawyers not connected with the case to vacate the stuffy
room.

The accused, who could face the death penalty if
convicted, face a string of charges including rape, murder and kidnap. A sixth
accused, who is 17, is to be tried in a separate court for juveniles.

The next hearing has been set for Thursday and will also
take place behind closed doors.

Sex crimes in India

Though gang-rapes are commonplace in India, the case has
touched a nerve, leading to three weeks of sweeping introspection on India's
attitudes to women, its often insensitive police force and dysfunctional
justice system.

It often takes years to bring a case to court, but the
fast-tracked legal proceedings are getting under way barely a week after the
medical student died of her injuries in a Singapore hospital.

India's chief justice has ordered High Courts in each
Indian state to set up new fast-track courts for sex crimes, saying the New
Delhi case had "shaken the conscience of the nation", according to a
letter seen by AFP on Monday.

The victim had been out to watch a film with her
boyfriend and was on her way home when she was lured onto a bus where the gang
are accused of repeatedly raping and violating her with an iron bar, causing
horrific internal damage.

The defendants have been named as Ram Singh, a bus driver,
his brother Mukesh Singh, gym assistant Vijay Sharma, labourer Akshay Thakur
and fruit-seller Pawan Gupta.

A court source, speaking to AFP on condition of
anonymity, said that two of the men had offered to become witnesses in an
apparent bid to avoid the death penalty, which is rarely carried out in India.

Prosecutor Mohan said he was unable to discuss their
plans, but said no petition was "on the record". It remains unclear
if the prosecution would want to accept them in any case.

Evidence in court

Outlining their evidence before the same court in Saket
on Saturday, prosecutors said there was DNA evidence to tie the defendants to
the crime scene, as well as crucial testimony from the boyfriend who witnessed
the assault.

"The blood of the victim tallied with the stains
found on the clothes of the accused," Mohan said on Saturday.

There have been widespread calls for the attackers to be
hanged, including from the victim's family.

Police pledged "maximum security" during the
hearing at the court on Monday amid fears for the defendants' safety. A man was
arrested last week as he allegedly tried to plant a crude bomb near the home of
one of the men.

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